Have you ever heard of steeped e-liquid? If you’re new to the world of vaping, that concept might be entirely foreign to you! That’s because most store-bought vape juices are already steeped and are ready to use from the get-go.
Some hardcore vape enthusiasts have taken to making or blending their own juices. It can be fun and turn into a full-time business if they’re lucky. If you’re keen on trying your hand at blending, it may help to know how to maximise your juice’s flavours and create a smooth, great-tasting product.
Our guide on how to steep e-juice for beginners is your one-stop shop for everything to do with steeping. It includes what it is, different methods, and testing your product. So let’s get into it!
What Is Steeping?
Steeping your e-liquid or vape juice is the process of letting it sit for a while to build a deeper, more intense flavour profile. The steeping process is only used when making your own e-juice blends or if you’ve ordered a freshly-made custom blend.
Vape liquids comprise vegetable glycerine and propylene glycol, which can take time to blend. But without letting the ingredients settle, your newly-blended liquid may not have the kick you’re looking for.
When buying vape juice from a retailer, steeping e-juice is unnecessary. Instead, these juices are made to be used as soon as you buy them. If you want to know more about picking a good e-liquid, you can use our guide on choosing a vape juice.
Why Steep Vape Juice?
You can think of steeping vape juice as ageing the e-liquid. When it steeps, the flavour concentrates have a better chance of blending, making it richer and smoother. After a while of sitting, the juice will be more potent and will taste much better than a fresh mixture.
What Are The Best Steeping Methods?
There are a few different ways of steeping e-liquid. Usually, the steeping process involves letting the e-juice sit for a while (untouched) before using it. But if you’ve made a fresh batch of e-juice and you’re itching to use it, there are ways to speed up the process.
The natural steeping method
The natural steeping method is the most common one because it’s easy and only requires a little patience to get it right.
After you’ve blended your e-liquid, you can let it sit by sealing it up and placing it somewhere dark. A cupboard is usually a good place, provided it won’t get knocked over or moved too often. You can also set it somewhere dark in your home, but you’ll need to be careful. If the e-juice has any light exposure, it may lose its potency!
Once you’ve found a good place to put your liquid, you’ll need to leave it for at least 48 hours before you use it. However, you can leave the e-juice for up to a week, which will significantly improve its potency.
Shaking the bottle method
Sometimes it can be hard to be patient, particularly when you’re eager to try a new blend!
This method involves the same steps as the natural steeping method. But, instead of letting it sit undisturbed, you’ll need to give the e-juice bottle a shake every few hours. Then, put it back into the cupboard and let it steep.
Heated bath method
Another way to get your hands on your steeped e-liquid a little faster is to use the ‘heated bath’ method. For this method, you’ll need to fill a bowl or cup with warm water. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t use boiling water, as this can neutralise many of the flavours and cause them to lose their potency.
The e-juice will become more viscous when the bottle heats up, making it blend together much better. A good tip for this method is to use glass bottles. Glass retains heat much more efficiently than other e-liquid bottles like plastic bottles.
Leave the liquid in the warm water until it has completely gone cold. Then, repeat the process or place the e-liquid into the cupboard to sit.
Ultrasonic cleaner method
If you’ve been blending your own vape juice for a while, chances are you have an ultrasonic cleaner to steep e-juice. But if you’re a beginner, the concept can seem foreign. Whatever blending level you’re at, picking up a cleaner to e-liquid steeping is a big time-saver and can result in some fantastic (and intense) flavours.
To use this method, you can fill your cleaner with warm water and place the e-liquid bottle into it. The vibrations of the cleaner, paired with the warmth of the water, will be just as effective as the shaking and hot bath methods. Except this method does it in one easy step!
How Long Does Vape Juice Need To Steep?
E-liquid steeping is a simple process. But you’ll need to know how long to steep your blends to get the most potency from your liquids. Generally, steeping your liquids takes trial and error, and you’ll need to take note of how long to steep them depending on what’s in your blends.
Multi-flavour vape juices
Multi-flavour juices take longer to steep than others, and it’s recommended to steep these juices for at least a week. However, they may benefit from an even longer steeping time. The ideal length needed for these e-liquids is around two weeks.
Single flavours
Single flavours usually need between two and seven days to steep. If you’re steeping them for a shorter time, like two to three days, you should use the shaking or hot bath methods to help speed the process up.
Fruit flavours
When mixing your own e-liquids, you may notice that fruit flavours are less dense than others. Because they aren’t as thick, they’ll need less time to steep, and we’d recommended steeping them for up to a week.
Dessert flavours
Dessert-flavoured juices are the complete opposite of fruit flavours. They’re generally a lot thicker and, therefore, need more time to steep. You can steep these liquids for between two and four weeks for maximum potency.
Tobacco flavours
Tobacco flavours are tricky. Typically, a standalone tobacco flavour needs around a week to steep. But if you’re adding other flavours like dessert or sweet flavours, you’ll want to leave it for about two weeks. If you want to err on the side of caution, it’s best to leave any tobacco-based liquid for two weeks before you use it.
Sweet flavours
Sweet flavours are much like dessert-based ones. They’re much thicker, and the sugary or fruity hints need to be steeped for much longer before you get a clear, smooth flavour profile. Depending on how strong you’d like, these flavours should be steeped for one to two weeks. We’d recommend doing a few experiments with these flavours to get them just right.
Does Steeping E-Juice Make A Difference?
We know what you’re thinking. ‘Do I really need to steep my e-liquid?’. And the answer is no, you don’t have to steep it. But when looking at the facts, most vapers prefer to use this method to increase the potency, smooth out the liquid, and get the most out of their ingredients and flavours.
Steeping vape juice helps make better-tasting batches and can make flavour concentrates more powerful. Of course, most vapers enjoy the more robust taste and want more dominant flavours because it’s all part of the enjoyment. But there are other benefits to steeping your juice before you use it.
One of the most significant benefits of steeping your juice is reducing throat hit. A throat hit is an irritation you feel at the back of your throat when you inhale any kind of smoking product like a cigarette or vape.
While some vapers enjoy the harsh feeling at the back of their throat because it encourages them to smoke less, hobby vapers or vape enthusiasts prefer a smoother inhale with less irritation. And if you’re concocting your own juices, chances are you’re not looking to smoke any less. Instead, you’re vaping for enjoyment and taste.
Do You Need To Steep E-Liquid Without Nicotine?
E-liquids without nicotine, also known as shortfills, are extremely popular among the vaping community. Whether you’re vaping to quit smoking or you really enjoy the variety of flavours and mixtures, shortfills are one of the most popular kinds of vape juice.
If you’re mixing your own liquids, you may already know that the steeping process isn’t for the nicotine in the product. Rather, it allows the e-liquid to age, making the flavours more potent. It also helps to eliminate any harsh alcohol or perfume smells or tastes you may get with freshly-mixed e-juice.
So if you want to create your own blends without nicotine, steeping e-juice is still recommended!
What Does Breathing E-Liquid Mean?
The steeping process is often compared to ageing a fine wine. But before you drink a great bottle of wine, you’ll usually decant it to let it oxidise and breathe. Well, the same can be applied to your e-liquid!
Freshly-mixed vape juice can sometimes have a harsh chemical smell or perfumey taste. This makes it unpleasant to vape and can even irritate your throat.
Although steeping can eliminate part of the problem, it doesn’t necessarily eliminate it altogether. That’s why many vapers prefer to let their vape juice breathe.
To allow your vape juice to breathe, you can remove the lid from the bottle and let it stand for a few hours. The liquid will come into contact with oxygen and get rid of any unpleasant odours.
What Does Streathing E-Liquid Mean?
Streathing e-liquid is a combination process involving breathing and natural steeping methods. It’s also a way to test your vape juices and track how long it takes for each one to reach your preferred taste and strength.
Streathing is quick and easy and involves a handful of simple steps. These steps include:
- Shaking up your vape juice blend
- Making sure the bottle is tightly closed and running it under some warm tap water
- Waiting for the bottle to heat up completely. This may take longer for glass bottles
- Removing the cap or lid from the bottle and placing it back into a dark place like a cupboard for 2-3 hours
- Placing the cap or lid back on the bottle and shaking it well
You can repeat this process if you’d like, but for shorter steeps of two to five days, once should be enough. However, longer steeps that last a few weeks may benefit from having the process repeated.
It’s also important to note that you can test your vape juice at different intervals. This helps to find a ‘sweet spot’ that you can use as a base for future blends.
Can You Steep Vape Juice For Too Long?
If you’re still learning to steep e-juice, figuring out how long to steep it may take some time (and patience). Even vapers who have blended their own juices for months can fall into the trap of over-steeping.
You can over-steep your vape juice if you leave it too long, so pay close attention to the expiration dates. Again, trial and error come into play here. But you can avoid steeping it for too long if you start by regularly doing taste checks or tests.
Conclusion
Steeping your e-juice is a fun and rewarding way to mix unique flavours and improve your overall blending skills. It can help you get the most out of all your ingredients and can help to enhance the taste and smoothness of the final product. This can bolster the quality of your juice and reduce any harsh irritation in your throat.
Can’t be bothered to wait a week or two for your e-liquid to steep? Why not buy your e-liquid pre-steeped? Here at Legion of Vapers, we pride ourselves in offering a huge range of different e-liquid flavours to suit every taste. Check out our full range of e-liquid today or get in touch to learn more.
